At the end of the week, right before she left for good, then they would talk. He would tell her of his desire to see her again when her work here ended. He wanted to take her out, make love to her, he wanted for them to continue what they had started here. He recalled what he’d said to Dillon earlier that day and knew that he did want it to be that kind of a party.
“Let’s not get into a serious discussion about anything. Not now. We can discuss any serious topics on your last day. I need to continue to have the peace I’ve found with you, Chloe. Could you hold your thoughts for a while and give me that?”
She slowly nodded. “Yes, I can give you that.”
“And,” he continued by saying, “with shearing wrapping up this week, the sheep that’s not pregnant will be taken to pasture and—”
“You have a lot of sheep pregnant?”
He smiled. “Yes, almost half my herd.”
He saw the look of surprise on her face. “How did that many sheep get pregnant at the same time?”
“It’s timed that way. The female sheep, the ewes, are put out with the rams during mating season and five months later they deliver during what is call lambing. That’s when the lamb is born. Luckily ewes won’t deliver the same day, but typically they will all deliver within a two-week period of each other.”
“Wow!”
He chuckled. In a way he was pleased with Chloe’s interest in his ranch. “The rams and the wethers are—”
“Wethers?”
“Yes, castrated male sheep,” he explained. “While the pregnant ewes are lambing, the rams and wethers and the ewes that aren’t pregnant are taken to pasture by the sheepherders. And that is where most of them will be for the next few months out on the pasture grazing.”
An idea popped into his head. “One of my men, Pete Overton, won’t be able to begin sheepherding until Sunday morning, so I’m going to drive his herd out to pasture early Saturday morning and get things all set up for him. Will you come with me? We’ll be back here before noon Sunday.”
Chloe smiled up at Ramsey. She had wanted to come clean and tell him the truth, but he preferred they hold off and not discuss anything serious until her last day. That was fine with her because she knew that once she told him the truth he would probably be upset with her.
She leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, I’d love to go with you.”
Ten
Over the next few days Chloe accepted the realization that she was falling in love with Ramsey. They would share a bed each night and get up before daybreak every morning and together they would prepare breakfast for the men.
It was during those times that he would share more information about his life as a sheepherder and had begun telling her about members of his family. Five of his siblings had been under sixteen when his parents had gotten killed—Megan, Gemma, the twins by the name of Adrian and Aidan, and his sister Bailey. Zane had been a senior in high school, ready to go off to college and Derringer had been about to enter his senior year of high school. His cousin Dillon had been placed in a similar situation with four siblings under sixteen.
From what Ramsey told her, Adrian and Aidan were now in their last year of college at Harvard, as was their cousin Stern. Another cousin by the name of Canyon was in medical school at Howard University in D.C. Brisbane was in the Navy. Micah, who was Zane’s counterpart in age, was a graduate from Harvard Medical School and was an epidemiologist with the federal government.
Just listening to Ramsey share information with her about his family’s turbulent years and the struggle that he and Dillon had had to endure to keep their families together, she had to admire the two men. Although she had yet to meet Dillon, she had met another one of his brothers, Riley, and found him to be just as handsome as the others.
And Ramsey had shared more information about sheepherding with her. One afternoon they had walked around his ranch. He had taken her to where the lambing stalls were and explained how next week more than a thousand of his ewes would be delivering. She had found the whole process fascinating. He had also given her a tour of the shearing plant and she was able to watch the men at work. She’d seen the dogs at work, too, and Ramsey had explained how important the sheepdogs were in managing and protecting the herds. You could definitely see that running a sheep ranch required maintaining a tight schedule and sticking to it.
Hanging the last pot back on the rack, she turned when she heard the back door open and smiled when Ramsey walked in. Closing the door behind him, and without missing a step, he crossed the kitchen floor and pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Chloe returned the kiss, for the moment refusing to acknowledge that she was making it harder and harder to leave after this weekend, to walk away and not to look back. The thought of doing so caused her heart to ache, but that’s what she would be doing. She decided she didn’t want to think beyond it, so she tightened her arms around him as he deepened his kiss. His mouth slanted against hers and she could feel her knees weaken.
Moments later he broke off the kiss and pulled back slightly and whispered against her moist lips. “Why do you always taste so sweet?”
His words further eroded her sensibility. He sounded so serious like there was truly an answer for his question. There wasn’t one, so she shook her head, tilted it up and smiled at him. “For the same reason you always taste so delicious.”
And to show him just what she meant, she took the tip of her tongue and licked a corner of his mouth. The instant she did, his long eyelashes swept upward to reveal the depths of his darkened gaze, and she could just imagine what he was thinking now.
“Doing something like that can get you into trouble,” he warned, as his arms tightened around her waist, drawing her even closer into the fit of his muscular form.
She smiled. “So you say.”
“So I can prove.” He took a step away from her. “But not now. First, I need to let you know that we’ve been invited to dinner.”
She lifted a brow. “Dinner?”
“Yes, my cousin Dillon and his wife Pamela want to meet you.”
Panic settled into Chloe’s bones. She didn’t want to pull any more of Ramsey’s family members into her web of deceit. She liked all of the ones she’d met so far and from what she’d heard about the oldest Denver Westmoreland, Dillon, there was no doubt in her mind that she would like him as well.
“Why do they want to meet me?” she asked, not sure she was ready to meet the man Ramsey was so close to.
“They’ve heard a lot of nice things about you and want to meet you for themselves.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. She had heard a lot of nice things about them as well. “I bet it was Jason who told them how I could fix his eggs just the way he likes them,” she said in a teasing voice, trying to make light of what Ramsey had said.
Ramsey chuckled. “Might be. Or it could have been one of my brothers or sisters. You’ve made quite an impression on them.”
Chloe glanced down to study the floor. At any other time knowing she had impressed the family of the man she loved would have been a feather in her cap. But not now. When they found out the truth it won’t just be Ramsey who’d think she’d deceived them. Lucia had been right. Chloe had been around them long enough to know the Westmorelands stuck together and if you were to hurt one, then you hurt them all.
“So, will you go to dinner with me at Dillon and Pamela’s?”
A part of her wanted to come up with an excuse not to go. She should claim a headache or something, but she could not do that. Although she deserved nothing, she wanted it all. She wanted to get to know more about the man she had fallen in love with. As well as to get to know those he loved and those who loved him.
She pulled in a deep breath and then said, “Yes, I’ll go to dinner with you.”
* * *
Ramsey could not remember the last time he’d brought a woman to a family function. Even with the annual charity ball they sponsored each year for
the Westmoreland Foundation that had been established to aid various community causes, he usually went solo. For him it had been better that way and because there had been enough eager-beaver Westmorelands who enjoyed being the center on attention with beautiful women on their arms, he was left alone.
He couldn’t even recall bringing Danielle to dinner when they’d dated. He never had to bother because his mother had liked Danielle enough to invite her to dinner whenever she saw her at church most Sundays. He knew the main reason he had dated Danielle as long as he had was because his family had liked her. And then because she’d hung around waiting for him to finish college, he had felt marrying her was the least he could do.
The truth of the matter was that she hadn’t been idle while she’d waited. At some point she had met someone, slept with the person and had gotten pregnant. The sad thing about it was that the man never married her and she ended up being a single mom.
He glanced around the room thinking that this was not supposed to be a family function. Dillon and Pamela had invited him and Chloe to dinner and they had accepted. He had expected to see Pamela’s three younger sisters because this was spring break back in Gamble. But he hadn’t expected to see his three sisters who were smiling sweetly at him at every turn. Nor had he expected to see Zane, Derringer and Jason. He saw them enough around his place for breakfast and lunch. Callum was not a surprise because the man took advantage of every opportunity to hang around Gemma. Riley wasn’t a surprise either because he was known to drop in whenever and wherever there was a free meal.
“You might have disappointed me for not doing that magazine cover, but you’ve more than made up for it with Chloe, Ram. I like her,” Bailey said.
Ramsey turned and met his baby sister’s gaze. “And just what do you like about her?” he asked, curious to hear what she had to say.
“She fits you.”
Because he’d been expecting a long, drawn out discourse, he was surprised by those three words. This was definitely a night for surprises, but then he thought he would not let Bailey get off that easily. “She fits me in what way?”
Bailey shrugged. “She’s pretty. You’re handsome. She can cook. You can’t. She’s an extrovert. You’re an introvert.” She lifted her brow. “Need I go on?”
“No.”
“Because we all know you have a tendency to stretch things out, Ram. If you are interested in her, you probably want to step up your game a notch.”
Now it was his time to raise a brow. “What makes you think I’m interested in her?” he asked, glancing across the room to where Chloe sat talking to Pamela. The two women were getting along like they were old friends.
“She’s here isn’t she? That in itself says a lot.” And without saying anything else, Bailey strolled off.
He was tempted to follow Bailey and tell her that no, nothing said it all. They were seeing things that weren’t there. Seeing what they wanted to see. But when he glanced back over at Chloe, he was beginning to wonder if perhaps everything that Bailey had said just now made sense. If so, that was real scary only because it was Bailey and she never thought logically.
* * *
Not for the first time tonight Chloe quickly glanced over at Ramsey before turning her full attention back to the conversation going on around her. The topic of conversation had shifted from just how good the First Lady had looked at a nationally televised event last evening to what was happening overseas.
More than once he had caught her gaze and the smile he’d sent her way was enough to send heat escalating through every part of her body. And memories of his touch would wash over her, make her wish they were someplace else. Someplace private.
“So you’re an only child, Chloe?”
Chloe glanced up at Gemma and smiled. The Westmorelands had been asking her questions about herself. Getting to know her. She had been wording her answers so they wouldn’t be outright lies. “Yes, I’m an only child but not for long. My father is getting married in a few months and the person he’s marrying has a son and daughter.”
“And you don’t have a problem with that?” Bailey asked.
Chloe chuckled. “Not at all. Dad’s been single long enough. My mother died when I was two, so it’s about time he tied the knot again.”
The conversation shifted to Megan as she told them how her day went as an anesthesiologist. Chloe glanced back across the room at Ramsey. He was talking to Dillon. There was no mistaking the two men were related. Dillon Westmoreland was also a good-looking man.
Ramsey caught her eye and like before, the look he gave her made her heart thump erratically in her chest. And as she continued to look at him she could actually feel his heat, reaching out across the perimeters of the room and actually touch her. And then he whispered something to Dillon before walking across the room toward her.
When he reached her side he tucked her hand in his, something that wasn’t missed by his sisters. “Thanks, Pamela, for a lovely dinner. It’s time Chloe and I left.”
Chloe glanced up at him, not surprised by what he said. It was either leave so they could go somewhere private or put on a real show for his family.
Pamela glanced at her watch. “It’s early yet. Are you sure you have to go?”
Ramsey smiled. “Yes, trust us, we do.”
* * *
Later that night Ramsey was wide awake as he watched Chloe sleep. They had barely made it through the front door before they began stripping out of their clothes. They hadn’t thought about making it up the stairs to the bedroom; instead they had been satisfied just to get to the sofa. By the time he had slid his body into hers, all the restraints he’d held in place over the past twelve hours came crashing down.
He had made love to her with an intensity that had even overwhelmed him. She had writhed beneath him, filled with the same turbulent need as she strained against him, meeting his strokes, his single-minded thrusts as if her very life depended on it.
She had dug her nails into his shoulders and on one or two occasions, had actually bit him. He had growled and then had increased the pace as his control and hers had continued to get shot to hell. He gave it to her hard, and at her encouragement, even harder. She had transformed into a wildcat, a woman who knew the degree of pleasure she’d wanted to experience. A woman who intended for him to give her just what she needed.
And he had. The more she’d wanted, the more he’d given. And by the time their world exploded into one hell of a combined orgasm, he was barely holding on the edge of sanity. He had known the moment pleasure had ripped his soul apart that this was not just a normal lovemaking session between two consenting adults. It was a hell of a lot more than that. The word normal didn’t even come close. There had been nothing ordinary about their joining. It had been the most atypical thing he’d ever experienced.
And now he knew why.
For the first time in his life he wanted to have a serious relationship with a woman. And he now knew more than ever that what he felt for Chloe wasn’t just a sexual thing. Tomorrow was officially her last day at the ranch, although she had agreed to spend Friday and Saturday night with him on the range sheepherding.
He could tell from the murmurs he’d been hearing over the past couple of days from his men that she would be missed, and it wasn’t just about the meals she had prepared for them. It was about the woman they had come to know. A woman who took joy in making their nourishment.
Yet she had remained professional while developing friendships with them. They looked forward to seeing her in the morning and again at noon. She not only talked to them, but she also listened. On occasion, he knew she also offered advice to a couple of the men when they’d inquired as to what to purchase their wives for birthday and anniversary gifts.
They would miss her, but none of them would miss her more than he would. In just two short weeks she had touched him, given him a bone-deep feeling of total and complete satisfaction, one he could not have explained until now.
He leaned over
and brushed a kiss across her brow. Last week he could barely make sense of what was happening to him, but now he knew and accepted his fate. He loved this woman. He really loved her.
And he wanted to keep her.
He knew that might be easier said than done. She might not want to have a relationship with him, one with the potential of going somewhere. She might like her life like it was now—not seriously involved with anyone. That Daren guy had probably left a bad taste in her mouth. In that case, he would do whatever he needed to do to make her change her attitude about a serious affair.
Unfortunately he did not have Callum’s patience. Starting now he would rev up his campaign to win her over, prevail in getting her love. At least his situation didn’t appear to be as hopeless as Dillon’s had been when he’d met Pamela. At the time she was engaged to marry someone else. But with his encouragement Dillon hadn’t let that stop him.
Now was time to take some of the same advice he’d dished out to Dillon. He knew what he wanted and there was no excuse in his not getting it. He had a goal. By this time next year Chloe Burton would have a permanent place in his bed as his wife.
* * *
“Are you okay, Chloe?”
Chloe glanced over at Ramsey. No, she wasn’t okay. Saying goodbye to his men had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. And she had fought back tears when they’d given her a going-away gift.
“Yes, I’m okay,” she said, knowing she really wasn’t. Ramsey had helped her to clean up the kitchen after lunch and then she had thrown a couple of items into an overnight bag. When she had stepped outside it was to find a huge RV parked in his yard. He had explained that the modern-day sheepherder believed in living out on the range with all the conveniences of home. Granted most didn’t have anything this large and extravagant. The majority of them did have campers that they pulled behind their trucks and would set up residence without having to sacrifice doing without satellite television, indoor bathroom and kitchen and dining facilities.
Brenda Jackson The Westmoreland Series Books 16-20 Page 26
